Articles
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More than 200 results
Article
Solitary well-defined osteolytic lesion (differential)
Solitary well-defined osteolytic lesions can be seen with the following conditions 1,2:
subchondral geodes or cysts
intraosseous ganglion
intraosseous tophus (gout)
unicameral bone cyst
aneurysmal bone cyst
glomangioma
enchondroma
epidermoid inclusion cyst
chondroblastoma
non-ossifying...
Article
Spiculated periosteal reaction
Spiculated periosteal reaction represents spicules of new bone-forming along vascular channels and the fibrous bands that anchor periosteum to bone (Sharpey fibers).
Pathology
A spiculated periosteal reaction signifies a rapid underlying process that prevents the formation of new bone under th...
Article
Coarse trabecular pattern in bone (differentials)
Coarse trabecular bones can result from a number of causes 1,2:
Paget disease (bone)
osteoporosis
osteomalacia
rickets
hemaglobinopathies, e.g. thalassemia, chronic iron deficiency anemia 3
Gaucher's disease
hyperparathyroidism
See also
coarse trabecular pattern in bone (mnemonic)
Article
Bile duct dilatation
Bile duct dilatation refers to the dilatation of intrahepatic or extrahepatic bile ducts.
Clinical presentation
Variable, depending on the underlying cause, but usually:
right upper quadrant pain
jaundice
Radiographic features
Ultrasound
Harmonic imaging is useful when assessing the bilia...
Article
Cerebellar restricted diffusion
Cerebellar restricted diffusion refers to a hyperintense signal involving the cerebellum on DWI images with a corresponding low signal on ADC images.
Vascular thrombo-occlusive disease
cerebellar arterial infarction 1
AICA infarction
PICA infarction
superior cerebellar arterial infarct
ce...
Article
Prostatomegaly
Prostatomegaly is a general term used to describe enlargement of the prostate gland from whatever cause. Usually, the prostate is considered enlarged on imaging when its volume measures >30 mL 3.
Terminology
The term prostatomegaly is often used interchangeably with benign prostatic hyperplas...
Article
Intervertebral disc calcification
Intervertebral disc calcification is a non-specific finding seen in numerous conditions.
Epidemiology
It may be observed in pediatric 5 as well as adult populations.
Pathology
Etiology
degenerative: relatively common and may occur in up to 6% of routine abdominal radiographs in adults
post...
Article
Ventriculomegaly
Ventriculomegaly is defined as enlargement of the ventricles.
Simply, there are two causes:
hydrocephalus
communicating
non-communicating
parenchymal atrophy
Refer to the article on hydrocephalus vs atrophy for more details on how to differentiate both entities.
Article
Generalized increased bone density in adults
The causes of generalized increase in bone density in adult patients, also known as generalized or diffuse osteosclerosis, can be divided according to broad categories:
hematological disorders
myelosclerosis
marrow cavity is narrowed by endosteal new bone
patchy lucencies due to the persist...
Article
Air space opacities
The differential for air space opacities is extensive, and needs to be interpreted in context of chronicity (previous imaging) and clinical context. It is therefore useful to divide airspace opacities as follows:
acute airspace opacities with lymph node enlargement
acute airspace opacities: un...
Article
Periapical radiolucency (teeth)
Periapical radiolucencies are commonly observed findings on OPG and other dental/head and neck imaging modalities.
Differential diagnosis
They can represent a number of pathologies:
periapical lucency related to apical periodontitis
periapical granuloma
periapical abscess
periapical cyst
...
Article
Midline shift
Midline shift is one of the most important indicators of increased intracranial pressure due to mass effect.
Pathology
Any intra-axial or extra-axial lesion (tumor, hemorrhage, abscess, etc.) has the potential to exert mass effect on the brain parenchyma and cause lateral shift of the midline ...
Article
Vertebral lesion (differential)
Differential diagnosis of vertebral lesions is very wide.
Differential diagnosis
Vertebral body origin
intraosseous hemangioma
metastases
Paget disease
multiple myeloma
osteonecrosis
vertebral body osteomyelitis
lymphoma
plasmacytoma
giant cell tumor
Langerhans cell histiocytosis
fi...
Article
Very bizarre generalized lesions of bone (differential)
Very bizarre generalized lesions of bone tend to make you exclaim "Oh my! What is going here?" Although there are numerous potential causes, in this situation it is worth thinking of a number of entities:
skeletal dysplasias and metabolic diseases
Paget disease
fibrous dysplasia
phakomatose...
Article
Bilateral axillary lymphadenopathy (differential)
Bilateral axillary lymphadenopathy can result from a number of causes and generally implies a systemic process. They include:
autoimmune diseases, e.g.:
rheumatoid arthritis
scleroderma
dermatomyositis 5
systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
psoriasis
Sjögren syndrome
lymphoma
leukemia
di...
Article
Multicentric breast cancer
A multicentric breast cancer is a term given to a breast cancer where there are two or more breast cancers separated by normal breast tissue (often taken as 5 cm of separation 4). It is related to but distinct from the term multifocal breast cancer.
At a pathological level It can also mean 2
t...
Article
Long bone metaphyseal cupping (differential)
Long bone metaphyseal cupping is most likely due to the local oligemia from thrombosis in the terminal epiphyseal arteries to the epiphyseal plate, induced by prolonged regional immobilization 7.
The differential diagnosis of long bone metaphyseal cupping includes:
Common
normal variant
re...
Article
Patellar tumors
Patellar tumors are extremely rare. They can be either benign or malignant primary bone tumors, or metastases.
Epidemiology
Patellar tumors represent just 0.1% of all primary bone tumors 1.
Clinical presentation
Patients may present with anterior knee pain and/or a palpable mass 1,3.
Path...
Article
Basal ganglia T2 hypointensity
Basal ganglia T2 hypointensities can be caused by any of the following and is commonly remembered using the mnemonic ChOMP.
childhood hypoxia
old age
multiple sclerosis
Parkinson disease: more in globus pallidus
Parkinson-plus syndrome: more in putamen
deoxyhemoglobin of hemorrhage
hemosi...
Article
Focal calvarial thinning
Focal calvarial thinning can result from a number of causes. They include:
bilateral thinning of the parietal bones (normal variant) most common
arachnoid cyst
mega cisterna magna
peripherally located tumors (e.g. oligodendroglioma)
See also
calvarial thinning
calvarial thickening
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